venerdì 19 settembre 2014

Antonio Vivaldi - The 37 Bassoon Concertos

5CD - MP3 192 Kbps - 5 RAR 503 Mb

INTEGRALE

ASV's Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto cycle occupied five individual full-price
releases, now bundled together in a specially priced boxed set. It's
safe to say that these 37 works constitute the largest one-composer
contribution to the bassoon's concerto repertoire. While the works
adhere to Vivaldi's patented quick-slow-quick three-movement form (save
for the brief, four-movement "La Notte"), they're hardly stamped from
the same cookie cutter. Try to predict how the churning sequences in the
Allegros will play out and you'll constantly be surprised by Vivaldi's
inventive vitality. The central slow movements contain some of Vivaldi's
most poignant melodies (the C major Concerto KV 467's gorgeous Andante,
for instance) and starkest mood paintings, such as the bassoon's
obsessive dotted rhythm motif against a bed of sustained strings in the A
minor KV 499.
Each of the five discs is programmed to ensure maximum contrast and
variety for those who wish to sit through, say, seven or eight concertos
at a stretch. I wager that listeners will often return to discs three
through five, for the Zagreb Soloists under Tonko Ninic's guidance bring
more characterful bite, color, and accentuation to Vivaldi's orchestral
writing than the less individual proficiency of Philip Ledger's
excellent English Chamber Orchestra. Bassoon soloist Daniel Smith
commands his unwieldy instrument to the point where it's all too easy to
take his suave tone, superb breath control, and idiomatic flair for
granted. Theoretically, five CDs' worth of baroque bassoon concertos
from a single author is tantamount to overkill, but this set proves a
glorious exception.